1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ink applicator for a tampon printing machine having a printing block holder, in which an ink holding pan is adjacent to the printing block, connected by an inclined surface which makes an uninterrupted transition to the top surface of the printing block, and over which an ink distributor positioned freely movable between the ink holding pan and the printing block, can be reciprocated.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In tampon printing machines which are known, ink blades or ink brushes are used as ink distributors; these draw ink, during the reciprocating movement of the ink applicator, out of the ink holding pan, onto the inclined surface, and over the surface of the printing block positioned in the printing block holder. In this known machine, the difficulty arises, during the movement of the ink applicator, in applying the ink uniformly, with the smallest crevices possible between the ink blade or the ink brush all the way to the printing block. Because of the required height differences between the ink holding pan and the top of the printing block, and the inclined surface which is necessitated by this arrangement, this uniform application is difficult to control.
In the known ink applicators which are freely movable, which are controlled only by the outflow contour, and in which the thickness of ink application is determined by the application blade, there arises an additional and undesirable abrasion of the printing block when a plastic printing block is used.
It is an objective of the present invention to design an ink distributor for an ink applicator of the types described above, which, when adjusted to the outflow contour, causes no damage to the printing block, and furthermore achieves an essentially uniform application of ink over the printing block.